Evanescence

The White Stripes

Rock band Evanescence also topped this year's list, picking up five nominations including Best New Artist and Best Rock Album for their multi-platinum breakthrough release, Fallen. Other five-time nominees were rapper Eminem and the late Warren Zevon. Also receiving multiple nods were Willie Nelson, Jack White of The White Stripes (three with his band and one individual), and classical composer Jose Serebrier with four each and Christina Aguilera with three, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her smash hit, "Beautiful."

Willie Nelson

Eminem

Warren Zevon

The 46th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2004, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on CBS from 8-11:30 p.m. on the East and West Coasts.

BMI's Grammy Nominees

SIX NOMINATIONS
Pharrell Williams

FIVE NOMINATIONS
Eminem
Evanescence
Chad Hugo
Warren Zevon

FOUR NOMINATIONS
Willie Nelson
José Serebrier
The White Stripes

THREE NOMINATIONS
Christina Aguilera
Jeff Bass
Michael Brecker
Chick Corea
Anthony Hamilton
Alison Krauss
Lil' Kim
Shania Twain

TWO NOMINATIONS
Audioslave
Black Eyed Peas
Jorge Calderón
Ry Cooder
Foo Fighters
Fountains of Wayne
Aretha Franklin
Rich Harrison
Heather Headley
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Toby Keith
R. Kelly
k.d. lang (SOCAN)
The Matrix
Martina McBride
Aaron Neville
Nickelback (SOCAN)
Pink
Neal Pogue
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Snoop Dogg
Sting (PRS)
Union Station
Doc Watson
will.i.am
John Williams
Lucinda Williams

ONE NOMINATION
Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Akwid
Allman Brothers Band
Audio Adrenaline
Marcia Ball
Luther Barnes & the Sunset Jubilaires
Buju Banton (PRS)
Mark Batson
Steve Berkowitz
Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones
Carla Bley Big Band
Blind Boys of Alabama
Blue Highway
Michelle Branch
Randy Brecker
Brooks & Dunn
David Bowie (PRS)
Joe Budden
Jimmy Buffett
Martin Buttrich (GEMA)
Café Tacuba
Michel Camilo
Cam'Ron
Caribbean Jazz Project
Rosanne Cash
Stanley Clarke
Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater
The Crabb Family
The Crusaders
Sam Cooke
Adrian Cosentini
Diamond Rio
Ani DiFranco
Reggie Dozier
Jimmy Douglass
Eagles
Fred Ebb
Kurt Elling
Scotty Emerick
The Flaming Lips
Floetry
Bill Frisell
Kenny G
Vince Gill
Gorillaz (PRS)
Percy Gray, Jr.
Buddy Guy
Eddie Gonzalez
Jimmy Gonzalez y El Grupo Mazz
Pat Green
Stephan Haeri
William Hamilton
Roy Hargrove
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Quintet
Eric Idle (PRS)
India
Intocable
Jane's Addiction
Etta James
Keith Jarrett
Jars of Clay
Norah Jones
The Jordanaires
John Kander
Peter Kater
John P. Kee
Garrison Keillor
Kitaro (JASRAC)
Korn
Dave Koz
Nathaniel Kunkel
Patti LaBelle
Amel Larrieux
Glenn Lewis
Mark Levine
Linkin Park
The Light Crust Doughboys
Lonestar
Irving Lorenzo
Patty Loveless
Luis Miguel
Timo Maas (GEMA)
Marilyn Manson
Masters at Work
Donnie McClurkin
Del McCoury Band
Tim McGraw
Sarah McLachlan (SOCAN)
Jim McNeely
Joel McNeely
Pat Metheny
Bette Midler
Ismael Miranda
Molotov
Joel Moss
Newsboys
Bob Norberg
Les Nubians (SACEM)
The Oak Ridge Boys
Walter Ostanek (SOCAN)
Joe Pace
Dolly Parton
Nicholas Payton
Ray Price
Queens of the Stone Age
Eugene Record
Relient K
Don Rollins
Roomful of Blues
The Roots
Scott Rouse
David Sanborn
Pete Seeger
The Sensational Nightingales
Thomas Z. Shepard
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Sean Smith
Luciana Souza
Los Straitjackets
Micheal Strange, Jr.
Jimmy Sturr
Howard Tate
Susan Tedeschi
Télépopmusik (SACEM)
Jacky Terrasson
Los Tigres Del Norte
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
Caetano Veloso
Rhonda Vincent
Redd Volkaert
Muddy Waters
Charlie Wilson
Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Kim Wilson
Vickie Winans
George Winston
Wayne Wonder
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Yerba Buena
Maury Yeston
Yellowjackets

Sheryl Crow

Eminem

Norah Jones

Other BMI writers who received multiple nominations included four each for country darlings the Dixie Chicks, producer Arif Mardin and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (including Record of the Year for the Nickelback smash "How You Remind Me"). Newcomer Vanessa Carlton picked up three. Fellow BMI pop divas Pink, Britney Spears and Michelle Branch garnered two nominations each, as did blues legend B.B. King, film composer Thomas Newman and gospel giant Fred Hammond.

BMI's 2003 Grammy nominees:

FIVE NOMINATIONS

Sheryl Crow
Eminem
Norah Jones

FOUR NOMINATIONS

Dixie Chicks
Chad Kroeger (SOCAN)

THREE NOMINATIONS

Vanessa Carlton
Floetry (Marsha Ambrosius, Natalie Stewart)
Arif Mardin
Pat Metheny

TWO NOMINATIONS

Michelle Branch
Michael Brecker
The Chieftains
Madukwu Chinwah
Natalie Cole
Dirty Vegas (PRS)
Foo Fighters
Carlos Franzetti
Kenny G
Pat Green
Herbie Hancock
Nellee Hooper (PRS)
B.B. King
Diana Krall (SOCAN)
Rashid Lonnie Lynn
Nappy Roots
Willie Nelson
Thomas Newman
Nickel Creek
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dolly Parton
Pink
Britney Spears
Ralph Stanley
3 Doors Down (Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson, Matt Roberts)
Doc Watson
John Williams

SINGLE NOMINEES

Aaliyah
Will Ackerman
John Adams
Christina Aguilera
Darol Anger
Audio Adrenaline
Bacilos
David Balakrishnan
Charli Baltimore
Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga
Jeff Bass
Daniel Bedingfield (PRS)
Big Tymers
Eddie Blazonczyk
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Kevin Bond
Ryan Bowser
David Bowie (PRS)
Brandy
Norman Brown
Solomon Burke
Burning Sky
R.L. Burnside
Gary Burton
Gary Calamar
Michel Camilo
Cam’Ron
The Canton Spirituals
Capleton (PRS)
Caribbean Jazz Project
Cee-Lo
Lauren Christy
The Clinch Mountain Boys
Andy Colver (PRS)
Commissioned
Common
Creed
Bill Cunliffe
The Charlie Daniels Band
Diamond Rio
Michael Doucet
Dave Douglas
Don Edwards
Danny Elfman
Enya (PRS)
Faith Evans
Tommy Flanagan
The Flaming Lips
Béla Fleck
Michael J. Fox
Allison Brewster Franzetti
The Funk Brothers
Peter Gabriel (PRS)
David Lee Garza y Los Musicales
Osvaldo Golijov
Gov’t Mule
Al Green
Grits
Dave Grusin
Deitrick Haddon
Fred Hammond
Roy Hargrove
Jesse Harris
Don Henley
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Big Band
David Holt
Intocable
Etta James
Jars of Clay
JaRule
Jay-Z
Maxi Jazz (PRS)
Little Joe & La Familia
Elton John (PRS)
The Jordanaires
Juanes
John P. Kee
Salif Keita (PRS)
R. Kelly
Kinky
Kitaro
Jennifer Knapp
Knoc-Turn’Al
Korn
Dave Koz
Jeff Koz
Alison Krauss
Femi Kuti (SACEM)
kd lang
Jim Lauderdale
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Don Letts (PRS)
Lonestar
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
The Light Crust Doughboys
Limi-T 21
Israel “Cachao” López
Taj Mahal
Lloyd Maines
Maraca
Martina McBride
Delbert McClinton
Freddie McGregor (PRS)
Lee Thomas Miller
Mingus Big Band
Moby
Charlie Musselwhite
Meshell Ndegeocello
The Neptunes
Newsong
Nickelback (SOCAN)
*NSYNC
The Oak Ridge Boys
Makoto Ozone (JASRAC)
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Pharrell
Queens of the Stone Age
Busta Rhymes
Riders In the Sky
Peter Rowan
Nancy Rumbel
Nicky Ryan (PRS)
Roma Ryan (PRS)
Mingo Saldivar y Sus Tremendos Cuatro Espadas
Santana
John Santos and the Machete Ensemble
Al Schmitt
The John Scofield Band
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Jon Sidel
Siggno
Allan Slutsky
Arthur Smith (PRS)
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Scott Spock
Ralph Stanley II
Sting (PRS)
Angie Stone
Omar Sosa
Luciana Souza
Jimmy Sturr
Take Six
Susan Tedeschi
John Tesh
The Temptations
Eric Tingstad
Tobymac
Trick Pony
Kathy Troccoli
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
McCoy Tyner
Jai Uttal
Bebo Valdés
Carlos “Patato” Valdés
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Scott Wenzel
Kenny Werner
Lucinda Williams
Robin Williams
Dean Wilson (PRS)
BeBe Winans
The Roland White Band
Pete Woodruff
Yellowjackets
Joe Zawinul

BMI once again swept many of the categories including Blues Entertainer of the Year with Taj Mahal, Bobby Rush, Little Milton, B.B. King, Rod Piazza and Shemekia Copeland, and Blues Instrumentalist/Guitar with Carl Weathersby, Duke Robillard, Kid Ramos, Ronnie Earl and Roy Gaines.

For over two decades, the Handy Awards have celebrated excellence in performance and recording of the Blues and is the highest honor bestowed upon artists in the Blues industry. A panel of international Blues industry experts votes on the initial nominees and 30,000 Blues fans then choose the winners.

Named in honor of W.C. Handy, "Father of the Blues," the awards ceremony traditionally opens the Handy Weekend. Celebrations include the Blues Symposium with workshops, panel discussions; and the Handy Awards Festival with Blues bands performing in the clubs along Beale Street and a BluesAid Concert. For the latest information on the Handy Awards and Handy Weekend visit www.handyawards.com or www.blues.org.

BMI Handy Award Nominees:

Blues Entertainer of the Year
B. B. King
Bobby Rush
Little Milton
Rod Piazza
Shemekia Copeland
Taj Mahal

Blues Band of the Year
Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets w/ Sam Myers
B. B. King Band
Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents
Magic Slim & The Teardrops
Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers
Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band

Contemporary Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Carl Weathersby
Eddy Clearwater
Larry Garner
Roy Gaines

Contemporary Blues- Female Artist of the Year
Debbie Davies
Deborah Coleman
Marcia Ball
Shemekia Copeland
Susan Tedeschi

Soul/Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Bobby Bland
Bobby Rush
Johnnie Taylor
Little Milton

Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year
E.C. Scott
Etta James
Irma Thomas
Trudy Lynn

Traditional Blues-Male Artist of the Year
Big Jack Johnson
Magic Slim
R.L. Burnside
Robert Lockwood, Jr.
Snooky Pryor

Traditional Blues-Female Artist of the Year
Ann Rabson
Koko Taylor
Ruth Brown

Acoustic Blues- Artist of the Year
Guy Davis
Keb' Mo'

Best New Artist Debut
Beverly Watkins - Back in Business
Sean Costello - Cuttin' In

Blues Instrumentalist-Guitar
Carl Weathersby
Duke Robillard
Kid Ramos
Ronnie Earl
Roy Gaines

Blues Instrumentalist-Harmonica
Carey Bell
Charlie Musselwhite
Rod Piazza
Snooky Pryor

Blues Instrumentalists-Keyboards
Dave Maxwell
Honey Piazza
Marcia Ball
Pinetop Perkins

Blues Instrumentalists-Bass
Bill Stuve
Willie Kent

Blues Instrumentalists-Drums
Chris Layton - Double Trouble

Blues Instrumentalists-Horns
Memphis Horns
Sax Gordon Beadle

Blues Instrumentalists-Other
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Fiddle
Claude "Fiddler" Williams - Fiddle

Comeback Blues Album
Don Covay - Adlib
Little Arthur Duncan - Singin' with the Sun
Mel Brown - Neck Bones & Caviar
Rosco Gordon - Memphis, Tennessee

Acoustic Blues Album of the Year
Eric Bibb - Home to Me
Guy Davis - Butt Naked Free
Robert Lockwood, Jr. - Delta Crossroads

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
B.B. King/Eric Clapton - Riding with the King
Eddy Clearwater - Reservation Blues
Kid Ramos - West Coast house Party
R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down
Shemekia Copeland - Wicked

Soul/Blues Album of the Year
Bobby Rush - Hoochie Man
Darrell Nulisch - I Like It That Way
E. C. Scott - Masterpiece
Irma Thomas - My Heart's In Memphis

Traditional Blues Album Of the Year
Big Jack Johnson - Roots Stew
Magic Slim - Snakebite
Snooky Pryor/Mel Brown - Double Shot
Son Seals - Letting Go
Willie Cobbs - Jukin'

Blues Album Of The Year
Big Jack Johnson - Roots Stew
Eddy Clearwater - Reservation Blues
Shemekia Copeland - Wicked
Son Seals - Lettin Go

Historical Album Of The Year
James Harman - Mo' Na'kins, Please
William Clarke - Tip Of The Top
Otis Spann - Last Call

Blues Song of the Year
"Waiting on the Cards to Fall," Guy Davis
"So Long Frank Frost," Big Jack Johnson
"Winds of Change," Karen Leipziger, Roger Fleming
"Pennies and Picks," James Armstrong, R. Lily, M. Heaney
"It's 2AM," R. Vito

That's the case with Nelson's new release, Milk Cow Blues, on which the multi-talented Texan explores his early blues influences with the help of such notable guests as B.B. King (on a reworking of King's 1969 breakthrough hit "The Thrill Is Gone"), Dr. John, Susan Tedeschi, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Keb' Mo' and Francine Reed. The album also features a studio band consisting of some of Austin, Texas' top blues players including guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Derek O'Brien. The material includes such blues and r&b standards as "Kansas City," "Ain't Nobody's Business," "Sittin' On Top of the World" and "Texas Flood," while reaching back into Nelson's own songbook for the Willie compositions "Crazy," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "Night Life," "Wake Me When It's Over" and "Rainy Day Blues."

Though Milk Cow Blues is the artist's first official blues album, he's no stranger to the style, whose influence has been prominent in his own recordings. Indeed, Nelson's music has always been informed by the eclectic array of influences he'd absorbed while growing up in the Central Texas farm town of Abbott, where he was surrounded by a wide variety of music, from country and western swing to gospel and Mexican folk tunes. And the blues, of course.

"I was raised and worked in the cotton fields around Abbott with a lot of African-Americans and a lot of Mexican-Americans, and we listened to their music all the time," Nelson recalls. "I guess that's why I was influenced a lot by those around me; there was a lot of singing that went on in the cotton fields."

As for the relative scarcity of new self-penned material on his recent releases, Nelson recently commented to The Wall Street Journal, "I was originally a songwriter and still figure that's one of my strongest suits," but added, "Songwriting I don't really enjoy doing. That's work. I usually have more songs than I need, so I'm not under pressure to write anything new. I'm real critical of what I write, and I seem to be more so as I get older. Everything new I write I start tearing apart."

Wilson Pickett

Etta James

Albert King

The most rewarded performer of the year was the legendary Wilson Pickett ("In The Midnight Hour" and "Mustang Sally") who took home three awards for Soul/Blues Album of the Year, Comeback Blues Album of the Year and Soul/Blues Male Artist of the Year. The recording acknowledged by these honors is his new Rounder release, It's Harder Now.

B.B. King

The legendary Little Milton (center), who performed at the Awards presentation with the band Gov't Mule, is seen here with BMI's David Sanjek and Roger Sovine.

The awards show was hosted by Memphis legend Rufus Thomas and classic vocalist Tracey Nelson, featuring outstanding performances by some of the evening's award winners: Wilson Pickett, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets with Sam Myers and Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, as well as some striking collaborations such as the masterful Little Milton accompanied by the band Gov't Mule and New Orleans pianist Henry Butler backed up folk diva Odetta.

WKNO, the Memphis Public Broadcasting station, filmed the event, so keep your eyes open for it to be shown on your local PBS outlet.

BMI W.C. Handy Awards winners:

Blues Entertainer of the Year
B. B. King

Blues Band of the Year
Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers

Blues Album of the Year
Albert King
In Session

Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year
Etta James

Soul/Blues Male Artist of the Year
Wilson Pickett

Soul/Blues Album of the Year
Wilson Pickett
It's Harder Now

Blues Song of the Year
"Change In My Pocket" written by Sam Myers, Anson Funderburgh, Renee Funderburgh and J. P. Whitefield

Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year
Keb' Mo'

Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year
Susan Tedeschi

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Albert King
In Session

Blues Instrumentalist
Other (Fiddle): Clarence Gatemouth Brown
Bass: Willie Kent
Drums: Chris Layton
Keyboards: Pinetop Perkins
Harmonica: Charlie Musselwhite
Guitar: Duke Robillard

Best New Blues Artist
Big Bill Morganfield

Comeback Blues Album of the Year
Wilson Pickett
It's Harder Now

Acoustic Blues Album of the Year
Paul Rishell & Annie Raines
Moving To The Country

Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year
Keb' Mo'

Traditional Blues Album of the Year
Muddy Waters
The Lost Tapes of Muddy Waters

Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year
R. L. Burnside

Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year
Koko Taylor

Reissue Blues Album of the Year
Hound Dog Taylor
Deluxe Edition

"I'm not hearing 'You play great for a girl' as much as before," states the 29-year-old singer/guitarist.

Tedeschi, whose clean-cut looks contrast her volcanic musical talents, grew up in the Boston suburb of Norwell, singing in church and local theater productions. After graduating from Boston's Berklee School of Music, she established herself on the local blues scene, self-releasing a CD, Better Days, and earning two consecutive nods as the Boston Music Awards' Outstanding Blues Act.

Tedeschi started as a singer, but eventually took up rhythm guitar and quickly progressed to her current status as an accomplished lead player. "I was never inspired to really play the guitar until I heard Magic Sam when I was around 22 or 23, followed by Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins," she recalls. "It was like a huge window opened up in my head."

The artist, who's recorded two duets with Willie Nelson for his next release, recently began work on her next album. She insists that success won't sway her from her devotion to the blues.

"When it comes down to it, it's all about the song - not the singing, guitar playing or drumming," she concludes. "It's about people getting together and listening to each other, creating a mood, and, hopefully, raw emotion spilling out and making a story."